Derek

I would probably shy away from that. Mainly because when I got it all done people would look at it and go "I could make one cheaper than that" and they'd be right. The kick pods are more sculpted and would be more labor intensive. I will say though I'm going to be exploring a pillar pod gauge mount as my next item. Derek

Happy birthday Jeff! Derek

I'm running Magnecore on mine and I'm very pleased. Derek

I don't know what the differences are. I do know that I'm only using the lower section of the panels on my car. It was easier for me to install by cutting the tops of the panels off. The only way you can see up in there is if you stick your head under the dash. Maybe someone with the knowledge will chime in. Derek

Thanks Nelsonian. Sorry datsun723. I doubt if I'll be producing these for the later models but you never know! Well I got the passenger side mounted and wired. The carpet cover was a real PIA to get shaped correctly. Man what a difference front speakers makes! Much better sound. I tested it out with the same song I've used since 1979 for testing out my sound systems....Comfortably Numb. You can guarantee that gets volume whenever it comes on! Well I'm might happy I followed through with this. It really cleaned up my kick area as well. Derek

Thanks for that. I had to band saw that very area out of the way to get the panel to slide up in place. Derek

Time for an update! Well I got the drivers side done including mounting and wiring. I happy to announce that the dead pedal issue is very workable. Not perfect though. I'm 6' tall and have 350Z seats in the car. This forces me to drive with a little more leg bend than I normally would and also puts my foot higher on the pedal than I normally would have it. I can't switch between the clutch and dead pedals by just laying my foot to the left like I was before. Now the funny thing about the human species is that the same skill set that allows us to comprehend driving allows us to adjust to things like this pretty quickly. Five miles in traffic is all it took. I don't even notice it anymore. Basically I just have to reposition my heal slightly as I go to the pedal. I also pulled the passenger side today and it looks like the first one is going to be a winner. I did a quick test fit at the end of the day and I'm pretty satisfied. Now for some issues. The carpet covers will not be on the production pieces. Nice idea but too much hassle for this size run. Also has a lot of potential for fit problems. I will cut the panels to match the factory fiberboard panels. This is the safest bet. Speaking of factory panels...I only have the passengers side. I just reversed it to do the drivers side. Does anyone have both of them out of their car and if so can you post whether or not there is a difference in the outline. I don't think there is but I want to be sure. Now for the pricing. I have enough plastic in stock to pull 4 sets of panels. These panels will be priced at $100.00 a pair plus shipping. I think this is a pretty fair price and weighed a few things to come up with it. Kick panel pods for new cars are in the $150.00 range. If you build your own you'll have at least $50.00 in materials and a couple of weekends labor. Now comes the tricky bit. I only want to sell the first 4 to people who are going to put them right in their car including the speaker install. Like it or not you'll be paying for the honor of being a beta tester. The only thing I'm worried about is how they fit on a car that has stock rocker panel covering. After we verify that the four fit then I'll do a larger run if there is demand. I think there will be as this is probably the cleanest easiest way to get speakers in the front. I can't guarantee that the price will stay at $100.00 but I'm going to try. Daphur280 Mutant Speed RS Speed Datsun723 Were the first 4 to ask about buying them. Sorry Chartoo I'm only doing US deliveries on the first run. If there is demand for a second run and the price goes up I'll still sell you a set at $100.00 US. Remember these panels only work in 70-73 cars. The only issues I can see on the first run may be the lack of a hole for something on an earlier car. Mine is a 73 by the way. I'll post pics of the passengers side tomorrow. Derek

Hi Jay I got my info from this site Vacuum forming I built it according to this link Table Read up and I'll be happy to answer some questions although I'm still learning. I'm not sure how deep a draw I could do and it really varies wildly according to plastic type and thickness. I tried to pull a piece of .030" Lexan over a piece as a test and it was a total failure yet I'm pulling .125" ABS over the kick panel with no problem. Not sure about the pricing yet. After I get everything worked out I'll do a full sheets worth (4 pair) and then come up with a price. Also a design note. I drove the car home last night with the panel installed and it still is too close to the dead pedal. I'm going to bring the speaker as far back and up as I can and call it a day. I'm sure I'm sacrificing fidelity but it's still too close. I may have to move the hood release cable up with a bracket as the cable is pretty close to begin with. I'd really like to end development on pull # 3 if I can. Derek

Round Two Re-cut the pattern today and did another pull. Got the plastic hotter and got much better results. I also cut out the profile with my CNC router as opposed to the broad axe I used last time. It fits really good but of coarse I didn't extend the carpet cover far enough. Here is a shot with my size 10 steel toe on the dead pedal Not a ton of room but I'll get used to it. I'm going to run this back and see how it works under the trim panel. I also need to do a better job on the transition so it follows the weather strip welt. This is as far as it's going to get for a week as I just got a rush job on a pattern. I'll drive this around and see how it works in use. I'm not planning on doing a pod for the 6" right now and probably never. It's tight with the 5 1/4" so 6" would be really tough. A question for the people interested in these. Does the carpet cover appeal to you or would you prefer it matches the stock fiberboard kick panel. Thanks Derek

My recipe for comfort. 350Z seats (or equivalent) Spray on sound deadener Dynamat style deadener Closed cell neopreen Aluminum backed jute mat Aluminum sandwich air cell insulation Full carpet kit Vintage Air A/C kit Spal power window kit Spal central locking system Rostra servo driven cruise control Good sound system Tokico Illumina shocks. For me this has been a great combination. I keep the shocks firm around town. A little less when the wife unit is with me and all the way soft if I'm on a road trip. I'm 51 and I can do a 3 hour stint at the wheel and feel like I just got up from the couch. My philosophy for my build was "make it comfortable and then buy as much horsepower as I can afford". Unfortunately I ran out of $$$ before I could get the ponies!!!! Don't under estimate the value of creature comforts in improving the overall drive. Derek

Hi Jamal He needs the early style because that's the only one that will work with my EDIS adapter kit. Derek

We Have Liftoff!!! Here is the maiden run. You can see the plastic starting to droop. And after the suck job. I'm totally happy how the first pull came out. The plastic was too cold and I needed a clamp on the front of the frame to keep the vacuum sealed but that's minor stuff. This is after I did a hack job on the band saw. I wasn't too concerened with pretty cuts as I was just interested in the basic fit. When I cut the production pieces I'll use my CNC router so I'll have more control. And now for the moment I've been waiting about a year for! Now for some observations. Man my car looks shitty from this angle The pod is too low. It clears the clutch pedal no problem but it's crowding the dead pedal too much. I tried to keep it as low as I could for fidelity reasons but I drive more than I listen so up it goes. I need to totally rework the carpet cover. I have the right radius but it comes out at the wrong angle. I also need to reshape the area where the yellow china marker is so it will follow the rocker. I'm also going to extend it rearward so it meets the metal trim. I have to redo the base plate. The step downs on the front and rear are too narrow. By the time I cut back the radius I had no flat left. That's why there is a gap in the front. At least the pod is right! All in all I accomplished everything I was hoping for and I think I established a good enough base line for the next one. Derek

Thanks guys Yes if this works out I'll be producing a few extra for sale. Derek

Well I've been wanting to set up a vacuum forming rig for a while now and figured making some kick panels would be a good way to get started. First thing I did was model up a stock kick panel and a 5 1/4" speaker. I cut a test blank of the kick panel to check the fit and then basically took an educated guess at the speaker placement. Then I modeled in a pod. I have a full carpet set in my car and the green section at the bottom will come out and cover the inner rocker, Kind of like an extension of the black trim plate. I made it bigger then I wanted and I'll trim it to size. The panel is designed to contact at the front and back and the rectangular depression towards the top. This will allow a 1/8" air gap behind it to act as a wire chase. I made everything bolt together so I could easily modify it plus the pod and rocker piece are symmetrical so I can use them on both sides. Here's some shots of the pattern -plug - buck whatever the hell you call it when you vacuum form. I'm making the parts out of 1/8" textured ABS plastic. I have no idea if this is going to work or not but it's an awful lot of fun! I should have the vacuum form stuff finished tomorrow and hopefully the first pull will be Friday. Cross your fingers. Derek

Like this? This is Roger Berry's Z Wolf. Derek

I bought the Nikon D50 when they first came out and never had a single problem or regret. Nikon makes a great product. And I'm sure the same could be said for the Canon. Here is a good site wit a lot of info. Ken Rockwell Derek

I had fuel starvation problems and tried everything. I ended up doing the "turn the drain plug into an outlet" mod and it solved my problems. I'm thinking I may have had a few pin holes in the suction tube in the tank. Derek Oh and a long time ago (like in the late 80's) I had a similar problem. There was a piece of old tape in the tank. occasionally it would suck up into the feed line. the car would starve and die. Then after sitting for a while the tape would drop out of the tube and I would go on my merry way. Drove me nuts!

I'll be going this route Stainless Bumpers I contacted them and they said they could provide a one piece rear with no holes and a front with no holes. A few guys over at Classic Z have gone this route and they're very happy with the bumpers. Now all I need is the $1200.00!!! Derek

Unless your really strapped for cash I would buy a professionally pre built unit. Installing and setting up Megasquirt can be pretty daunting at first because it does so much. I've had mine for over a year and I'm still tweaking. I daily drive mine and it's never left me stranded. Derek

Very nice! Great fab work. The view through the hatch glass will be amazing! Derek

My first portable cell phone was a Motorola brick so I've been playing this game for a while. When I upgraded my original 2G iphone to a 3Gs I was able to sell the 2G with one phone call for $150.00 and probably could have gotten more had I listed it on Craigs List. This is the first time I had a phone that was worth anything after the contract was up. Food for thought. Plus I love my iphone. Derek

I just signed on using Opera and it automatically loaded a mobile version. Derek

Yea my dsl went out so i busted out the iphone What a diffrence Derek

I used sheet filter material from Uni. UNI I used one layer of coarse and one layer of fine. I also keep them oiled. Derek

What no cheeky comment  about my "shaft" flopping around! Tony your loosing your edge. Derek